“Partnering to Win” in the Arctic
On August 11, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 successfully launched twin satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California into highly elliptical orbit (HEO) as part of the Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM).
The satellites, which carry both commercial and military payloads, will provide high-speed broadband internet to the circumpolar Arctic. The military payloads offer protected communications to an area above the 65th parallel north—which previously had little to no service—and communications for combatant command and control centers below the 65th parallel. The satellites will also benefit commercial and civilian applications, including search and rescue and disaster response.
ASBM demonstrates that greater collaboration between NATO allies can help fill a critical need for US and alliance security: enhancing defense, deterrence, and interoperability in the Arctic region. The mission is a collaborative effort between Norway and the United States that relies on government and commercial partners in both countries. It is jointly operated by state-owned Space Norway’s subsidiary HEOSAT, California-based commercial communications company Viasat, and the US Space Force.
The satellites, which were developed by Northrop Grumman for Space Norway, carry multiple payloads that will support the US and Norwegian military as well as commercial customers. In addition, they are outfitted with the Norwegian Radiation Monitor (NORM), which will collect radiation data for the European Commission to support the development of the European Space Agency’s second-generation Galileo navigation constellation.
The cooperation speaks to the deep partnership, trust, and strategic alignment between the United States and Norway. According to Northrop Grumman, this is the first time that “an operational DoD payload … will be hosted on an international space vehicle”. It also highlights new possibilities enabled by technological innovation: the Enhanced Polar Systems-Recapitalization (EPS-R) payload interface, developed by Northrop Grumman, can be completely isolated from the rest of the satellite, which protects the classified system and makes military-commercial and multinational cooperation more feasible.
This cooperation also has great cost-savings potential. Developing and launching space capabilities is expensive, and sharing the costs among multiple partners can lessen the burden on any individual country. According to a 2022 US Space Force assessment, the joint partnership with Norway could generate “potential savings of up to $900 million” compared to a unilateral US approach. The historic mission supports one of the Space Force’s priorities, characterized by Chief of Space Operations General Chance Saltzman as “partnering to win”.
At a time when the United States and its allies must strategically prioritize investments to address simultaneous threats across several theaters in a tight-budget environment, innovative, multi-national solutions and collaborations that lean on commercial partners are vital. ASBM not only helps plug capability gaps that are critical to US and NATO operations in the Arctic region, but also serves as a model for future military capability joint efforts in line with the US government’s strategic focus on integrated deterrence and collaboration with allies and partners.